ENTERTAINMENT
THE CHAM.OTTE POST
Thursday, Nov. 10,1977-THE CHARLOTTE POST-Page IB
Grease Brings
Nifty Fifties
To Charlotte
GREASE is a musical that
brings back those days of
duck-tailed, well-greased
male hair-do's when Elvis
Presley and his brand of rock
'n' roll was the latest craze of
the nation's youngsters, and
it's been one of New York's
biggest hits since the beginn
ing of 1972.
Through its story of teen
agers in an urban high school, /
engaged in singing and danc
ing to the then-new throbbing
rock rhythms of the late SO's,
"GREASE'.' brings alive -
many aspects of the Fabulous
Fiftii« that manu παλαΙα
w β β —
nearly forgotten - Elvis's -
wriggling, James Dean's bro
oding, Bill Haley's rocking,
Patti Page's waltzing, Johnnie
Ray's crying, and everybody
else's boola-hooping.
And the "GREASE" alum
ni, such as Adrienne Barbeau,
John Travolta, Garn Stephens
and many others have become
champions of the show that
not only started the '50' craze,
but gave them their starts in
show business to help them up
the ladder of theatrical suc
cess.
"GREASE", as a contem
porary song recalls, is "a re
turn to a simpler place in
time." A time of shoo-bop-be
bop, ballads of young love and
High School Sock Hope; a fun,
high-spirited musical romp
back to the nifty fifties.
"GREASE"will- play at -
Ovens Auditorium on Thurs
day, Nov. 17 - 8p.m.
ABC Release
John Cohrane
Material
ABC-Impulse Records is
releasing First Meditations -
(For Quartet), a previously
un-released work by jazz's
premier saxophone player, -
John Coltrane, on Nov. 11.
Recorded in late 1965, the
album is the last intact record
ing by the quartet which con
sisted of Coltrane, McCoy Ty
ner, Jimmy Garrison, and
Elvin Jones.
The release of First Medita
tions < For Quartet) is part of a
larger project begun earlier
this year by ABC President
Steven Diener to commemo
rate the 10th anniversary of
Coltrane's death. Coltrane
biographer David Wild was
commissioned to research vin
tage Coltrane Impulse tape·
AL JARREAU
~Recently arrived nuperntar
More And More People
Are Tuning In To Jarreau Sound
By Jacquie Levister
Poet Staff Writer
WE GOT IT, A1 Jarreau's
first LP was released in Au
gust of 1975 by Warner Broe.
The album, composed entirely
of original compositions, was
slow to start, but later came in
for more praise, well" wishes
and congratulations than any
number of recently 'arrived'
superstars..
In his first appearances in
America, Jarreau established
a reputation as a first-rate
performer able to communi
cate with almost any audien
ce. Small but continued air
play, word of mouth, perfor
mances on the Dinah Shore
show and Saturday Night
Live, and his mammoth suc
cess in Europe gave Al a new
dimension as an artist and a
performer. More and more
people began tuning in the
sound of AI Jarreau.
The second LP, GLOW, was
a combination of original ma
terial and songs by other
artists. With top-flight produc
tion from Al Schmitt and
Tommy LiPuma, GLOW cap
tured Jarreau at his distinc
tive, compelling best, and lis
tener response to the record
was fittingly resounding.
A1 Jarreau is a singer. The
only problem with this defini
tion of his profession is that it
doesn't really describe all that
happens when Jarreau is per
forming on stage or in the
studio; "Vocal Musician" is a
term that gets closer to des
cribing his vocation.
Accompanied by a small
ensemble in a club, for ins
tance, he's every bit as com
fortable and credible improvi
sing vocal lines to comple
ment the other instruments as
he is singing the words of his
songs.
Before the release of his
first record AI was discussing
the merits of a live record for
his third LP The prospect of a
live Jarreau had a special
intrigue. With Al's vocal iden
tity rooted in spontaneous per
formance, there's no better
setting for his music than the
live context The album would
have to be primarily new
material but with AI writing
and Tommy LiPuma and AI
Schmitt producing, it seemed
clearly possible and probable.
Buoyed by the enthusiasm
and support of European com
panies for the project, the
decision was made to record
Ai's European tour in early
"77. Producers Schmitt and
LiPuma met Jarreau and his
band in Amsterdam and for
the next five weeks they re
corded 16 sold-out concerts
from London to Oslo, Berlin,
Vienna, Paris and an enorm
ous territory in between The
results? AL JARREAU LIVE,
a smash,
Jarreau, born in Milwaukee
and a Masters graduate in
Psycology from the Universi
ty of Iowa, was working as a
California Division of Rehabi
litation counselor in San Fran
cisco in the late 60 s when he
began singing in area clubs
Soon he quit his counseling job
and trekked to \â» Angeles,
where he and a support guitar
ist hoped they'd make it big
Soul Train To
Feature Singer
Barry White
Don Cornelius, the genial
host-producer of television's
musical dance show. Soul
Train, broke precedent and
filmed this weekend's show at
the home of guest slars Maes
tro Barry White and his wife,
Glodean. one-third of the Love
Unlimited trio.
From poolside at his luxurious
estate, the Maestro delivers
his latest love songs "You
Turned My Whole World A
round," "Playing Your Game
Baby," "It's Ecstasy" and
"Oh, What a Night For Danc
ing" in the same effortless
style which has made him
the leading composer and pro
ducer of comtemporary love
songs.
Not only is he noted for
creative genius but also for his
talents as a businessman.
Ix>ve Unlimited performs
"He's All I've Got" and the
Soul Train dancers lend their
own special brand of excite
ment to round out ihe enter
tainment
i^ordon s Dry
Gin Marks Top
Disco Albums
There's a new sound in the
nation's liquor stores.
It's the long-playing KCA
album entitled "Smooth
Sounds"~featuring LaBelle,
Vicki Sue Robinson, Lonnie
Liston Smith, Dr. Buzzard's
Original Savannah Band and
six other prominent artists
and offered by the Gordon's
Dry Gin Company Limited.
Produced as a collection of
the best disco music heard in
the nation, the album is avail
able for $2.98 and is being sold
through special counter-dis
play coupons found in over
5000 of the nation's key liquor
stores.
oiuc η tuiuiauj υι . ι aim,
Hope and Charity's "To Each
His Own," LaBelle's "Fres
sure Cookin,' " Hues Corpora
lion's "Rock the Boat" and the
Tymes' "You Little Trust
maker."
Side Β offers: Lonnie Liston
Smith's "Expansions, ' Dr
Buzzard's Original Savannah
Band playing "Whispering
Cherchez LaFemme C'est Si
Bon," Main Ingredient's "Rol
ling Down a Mountainside,"
and New Birth's "It's Impos
sible."
Gordon's gin and vodka are
distributed bv Renfield Impor
ters, Ltd